VENICE, Fla.—Chinese people’s struggle to keep their rightful heritage alive is a cause that’s reaching more and more people every day.

“Well, the traditional values, it’s the core traditional values, I would think, of the Chinese people. But the government is so strange there [in China], I must tell you. You know, in fact, that’s one of the reasons I came here, is to kind of support that ... It’s just when the government takes control of people’s bodies and minds, it just gets strange,” he said, referring to the regime’s campaign to eradicate Chinese traditions, which includes abducting and torturing spiritual believers and force them to renounce their beliefs. Shen Yun depicts such scenes, drawn from real life, in its performance.

Mark and his wife Arlene marveled at Shen Yun’s artistry and the many elements that go into its performance.

“It’s unbelievable, right?” Mark said, “I mean, it’s so precise. Everybody’s dancing so precisely. And there’s such a level of physical—they must have practiced like crazy.”

“And I thought this was actually from China, but it’s from New York,” he added.

“And perfectly in sync with each other. I mean, they must be practicing constantly,” Mark said.

Mark certainly felt something, at least stirring in his heart. “It’s, it’s awesome. Very exciting. [Shen Yun] was very nice. And I’m usually bored at these things,” he said, adding that recent performances have not held his interest, but that Shen Yun is “my kind of thing. I love the performance. I love the music.”

Mark is actually a musician himself, a percussionist, and so was able to notice something about Shen Yun’s compositions and performers with his expert ear.

The precision of the music along with the dancing was such that Mark first thought it was a recording.

“The dancing and the music,” he continued, “they were so coordinated as well. So you can see there was a very high level of practice and coordination put into this. You know, whoever put it together is brilliant.”

Some of Shen Yun’s pieces in a performance depict an ancient Chinese legend about the Creator and his eventual return to earth. Mark and Arlene appreciated this theme in the performance and found close similarities between the Chinese beliefs they learned about and Christianity, their own faith.

Mark and Arlene closed their review of Shen Yun with a hearty recommendation of it to their friends and family.

“I want them to come see [Shen Yun],” Mark said. Arlene called it a must see, and Mark agreed. “Must-see show, right,” he said.